Joyce demands fair pay and conditions for meat industry workers

Labour's Rural Affairs spokesperson in the Welsh Assembly JOYCE WATSON AM has demanded fair pay and conditions for meat industry workers in Wales.

She called upon the Minister for Rural Affairs to support the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s official inquiry into discrimination against temporary and agency workers in the meat processing sector. The inquiry, which is the first to be undertaken by the newly formed Commission, was launched last October and is expected to report back this April.

Responding, the Minister said she 'looked forward to [the enquiry's] recommendations on how to improve employment and recruitments practices in the meat processing sectors in Wales.'

Speaking afterwards, Joyce Watson said:

"When I met Howard Wright, Unite organiser for Mid Wales, some time ago we discussed the plight of Welsh meat workers and I am committed to lobbying on their behalf within the Welsh Assembly.

"I will continue to press the Minister to take a full interest in the inquiry and to take its recommendations on board, because it is in the interest of the whole meat industry that it secures good terms of employment for all of its workers."

Figures released by Defra last week confirm that the UK’s livestock industry is faring well, with cattle production up by over a quarter and the value of sheep and lambs up by nearly a third since last year. After the challenges of recent years – in which the industry has been beset by successive outbreaks of newly introduced and persistent diseases, and has had to compete in an unfavourable marketplace – these figures are certainly very welcome.

Joyce added:

"Earlier this week I attended an event at the National Assembly for Wales to celebrate Farmhouse Breakfast Week where I met farmers who told me how they were benefiting from the current exchange rates. They say these have enabled them to trade more competitively both within Europe and in the wider global marketplace. And the higher prices they are now receiving for their produce are helping to offset some of the increases in input costs which have hit farm incomes hard over the past few years.

"But there are some 22,000 people who are employed in the food and drink processing and manufacturing sector in Wales, and while some of these jobs are secure and pay a viable wage, too often they exploit temporary and agency workers who are employed on poor terms and conditions.

"The meat industry has a real opportunity to offer people secure employment. It plays a very important part in the Welsh rural economy and this is especially true at this time when other sectors, like manufacturing and retail, are suffering from the twin affects of poor credit availability and reduced demand for goods and services. So in these difficult times, the success of the meat industry is crucial for rural Wales."

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